Dialécticas del cuerpo, de la mirada y de la interpretación: el caso de La belle Noiseuse (1991), de Jacques Rivette

Abstract

La belle noiseuse (1991) is a late work by Jacques Rivette (1928-2016), a central figure of the French New Wave. Based on Honoré de Balzac’s «Le chef-d’oeuvre inconnu» (1831), this adaptation transforms the 30 pages of the literary text into a four-hour feature film, exploring the tensions between emerging and established painters, art dealers, models, and lovers. This article revisits the work by questioning its hegemonic interpretation, which views it solely as a piece about pictorial creation. As an alternative reading, the present work proposes a revi- sion of the misogyny and power dynamics presented in the script and mise-en-scène, which is identified through an examination of the dialectics of the body and the gaze. This strategy is the product of a «preliminary reinterpretation,» which is also subsequently challenged. This new perspective leads to the recognition of a third dialectic, interpretation, which allows for reflection on the subsequent hermeneutical processes in which the piece of art participates.